As If You Have A Choice
by SlytherinnSeeker
Summary: Very AU. No Mary-Sues. One shot. A little tragic, though.


**Title;** As If You Have a Choice

**Rating;**

**Pairing[s]: **Draco/Hermione

**Other Characters;** Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and others

**Summary;** Very AU. No Mary-Sues. One shot. A little tragic, though.

**Disclaimer; **I don't own anything. At all. Unfortunately. Except the plot! Yes! I own the plot! Well... I might not if it's been done before me, but hey, right now I own it until further notice!

**A/N; **It's only fiction, so there's no need to correct the characters... please remember this when you're reviewing. Enjoy!

* * *

She opened her eyes slowly, the afternoon sun glistening on the water, resembling a giant hole filled with thousands and thousands of little diamonds. She smiled faintly and closed her eyes again; this was where she wanted to be, where she wanted to stay - but she knew this perfect existence she was living right now would soon come to an abrupt halt. How could one possibly have a full and perfect life with a soon-to-be Death Eater?

"You look sad."

It wasn't an observation, it was a statement. He knew everything she was thinking, could feel the pain of her thoughts and heart, radiating off her. She turned her head and opened her eyes so she was looking up into his; they were soft and welcoming, yet the hardness that had been there previous to the past four years was still lingering. She hated the looks he gave her sometimes; they made her feel small and obsolete, like she didn't understand what was going on outside of Hogwarts.

"I'm not," She blinked a couple of times to focus, and then smiled. "I'm happy."

"You're not a very good liar, Granger." He said flatly. "Never have been and never will be."

"I've kept all of your dirty secrets for this long," She pointed out. "How would you know if I'm lying or not?"

"There's a difference between lying to me and lying to your Gryffindor buddies," he said coldly. "When you lie to me, your nostrils flare and your eyes glisten and don't say it's the late afternoon weather or something to do with the grass because that excuse gets old after so many years."

She sat up and turned to face him; his lap became suddenly cold when her head was now level to his, "What is your problem this week? You've been snapping at me like you've got PMS and it's driving me up the wall!" She took a deep breath, not wanting to argue. "If you'd just, _for once_, open up and talk to me about what's bothering you... you don't have to be so strong when you're around me."

"If I'm too strong, then it's _for _you." Draco narrowed his eyes and clutched the grass beneath his hands.

She shook her head, "You know I can carry myself - you've seen it." Looking out at the lake, she sighed. "Your pride controls you, Draco. I'm sick of it."

His lips twitched, "Then break up with me," her eyes met his in confusion. "Yeah, you heard me. You'd be better off without me anyway - who wants to be with a Death Eater, right? I won't be able to be who you want me to be, nor will I have the choice to be who I am with you. So your simple solution is to break up with me, after four years of _not _being sick of my pride, and forget everything that's happened."

By now he'd dug holes in the grass; her heart thumped hard in her chest, "You think I'd dump you just because of your... your career choices? You went against your fathers' wishes and dated a _mudblood_-" he winced. "-so I'm pretty sure I can do the same thing!"

"Don't say that word," he growled.

She scoffed, "What, _mudblood_?" His jaw visibly tensed. "Why be afraid of it now? Why? Merlin, Draco... there are so many 'whys' in our relationship and you know what? I learned to ignore all of them - no! I _chose _to ignore them because I..." her eyes felt wet so she looked down. "Because I fell in love with you... the _real_ you. And just because you're forced to follow that _thing_, it doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving you."

His heart shattered in his chest, knowing that this was what he had to do, "The _real _me, Granger?" he snorted. "The real me is a Death Eater and you know it. It's what I was born to do - it was my entire upbringing! I'll never change... not even for you."

"What are you saying?" She whispered painfully.

And it shattered just a little bit more, "I'm saying, that for a Know-It-All, you're quite thick." He got to his feet and bushed the grass off his hands. "I don't love you." It felt like acid on his tongue; this was the right thing to do, however, and it needed to be done quickly. "I may have feelings for you but love?" he sneered. "Never."

Before the first desperate sob left her lips, he turned on his heel and returned to the castle. Numb and shaking, she pushed herself up against the tree and held her knees against her chest. She wasn't sure what had just happened and how it all fell apart so quickly, but she did know that the look in his eyes said something different to the words coming from his lips. The reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks; he was choosing a life as a Death Eater over her, and once that thought drifted into her mind, she cried.

* * *

"Potter," Draco barked, advancing on the raven-haired boy.

"Malfoy?" Harry looked over the blondes shoulder curiously. "Where is Hermione?"

"Keep her away from me, Potter, if you know what's good for her." Draco said, his voice broken and his cheeks tear stained. "I don't want her to... I don't want her to even say my name."

"What did you do?" Ron asked angrily.

"Ron," Harry cut in, glancing back at Malfoy and noticing the visible tear trails. "You broke up with her, didn't you?"

"It was stupid to date her in the first place and you know it." Draco said gruffly, lifting his glassy eyes from the floor to Harry's scar. "Take care of her... please."

Harry and Ron had never had a problem with Draco Malfoy. They hated his father, yes, but Draco, after their second year, had begun to show a type of respect towards the three friends. After a few months of pussyfooting around, they finally became acquaintances, then finally friends. Shortly after all of this took place, an incident in the library with Hermione changed everything. He couldn't let anyone else have her, yet he knew for him to have her would put her in danger.

"He's going to do it," Ron frowned, watching the Slytherin disappear into the sea of students. "He's going to become a Death Eater."

Harry frowned, "I don't think he has a choice, Ron."

* * *

Hermione writhed in pain as Bellatrix Black threw another Cruciatus Curse on her. She screamed out in agony, her eyes rolling back in her head once more as the pain subsided and Bellatrix continued to interrogate her. Her vision was blurred drastically, but she could see the faint outline of the blonde standing by the door, his head turned away. Bellatrix yanked at her hair again, pulling her face close to hers and asked one more time.

"It's a fake!" Hermione cried, the taste of blood hanging on her lips. "It's a fake! I swear it is!"

Memories flooded her brain; Draco jinxing students, his mysterious behaviour - it was all leading up to this one moment. It was sink or swim for the both of them. He was in fact a Death Eater now and he only served one master, but could his love for the girl, crying out for help before him, change all of that? Did he have enough strength, enough will power to turn on his family like that? He had tried, he had planned it out, but in this opportune moment, he didn't know what to do. His plans all seemed to dissipate before his eyes.

"Please..." Hermione whimpered, darkness creeping up on her. "Please... stop..."

Bellatrix cackled inhumanely, "No one is going to save you, Mudblood! Potter will be dinner to the Dark Lord, your little red headed blood traitor friend will be fed to the wolves and you... you will be my toy."

"No," A voice said deeply.

Bellatrix felt the cool tip of a wand press against her neck, "Draco... what _are _you doing?"

Hermione couldn't believe her ears, but she refused to ignore it, "She will not be your toy," his voice said. She almost smiled, "She will be mine."

Bellatrix let Hermione drop back to the floor, "Fine. I suppose you deserve a _little _fun for everything you've done... take her."

She felt the strong scent of peppermint tea enter her nostrils, "Malfoy..."

"Shut up, Mudblood." He hissed, taking hold of her hair. "I'll be in my room."

Bellatrix laughed again, "Have fun!"

Hermione didn't even have the lung capacity to scream in pain as he dragged her from the room by her hair, "Stop resisting, Granger." He spat as he walked out of the study and into the parlour.

"Draco," she automatically recognized the smooth voice to be that of Lucius Malfoy. "What are you doing?"

"Aunt Bella said I could take her," Draco replied coolly, looking down at Hermione who had now taken hold of his wrists to reduce the pain. He shrugged and looked back at his father, "She's like target practice, I suppose."

Lucius rolled his eyes, "Well I won't have her screaming in my house."

"Where do you suggest I take her then?" Draco questioned.

"I don't care. Anywhere but here. I don't want The Dark Lord to arrive here expecting Harry Potter, and find my son torturing a _mudblood_." Lucius snarled, kicking Hermione in the ribs sharply; she winced in pain as she felt a bone crack.

Draco nodded his head and pulled her to her feet, "I'll need a Portkey, then." He touched the tip of his wand to a nearby candlestick and muttered something. "I'll see you soon father."

"I'll call for you," Lucius said finally, walking back to where he was.

Holding her tightly around her waist, he put his finger on the candlestick, "I hope you don't get motion sickness." The group of Death Eaters laughed, then as the laughter died out, her stomach churned - she was no longer in Malfoy Manor.

When she opened her eyes, his arms were around her fully, his face buried in her neck, "Hermione..." he sobbed, gently laying her down on her back. "I'm s-so sorry I -" he whipped his wand out and held it to her ribs. "If y-your bones are b-broken... they won't, they won't h-heal straight away..." he then pulled a vial from his pocket. "This will help you sleep..."

He parted her lips gently, the warmth of her blood against his fingertips sending shivers down his spine. Pouring the liquid into her mouth, she swallowed, gagged and then slowly fell into darkness.

* * *

She looked down at the tea in front of her as Draco moved around before her, "What about Harry and Ron?" She asked quietly.

Draco looked up, "I... Potter is capable of looking after himself." Looking away, he spotted movement in the distance. "Hermione... they're here, like I said."

Her eyes welled with tears, "Draco, Please... I can't do it again... it hurts so bad..."

"Please do it?" he begged. "It's the only way to keep you alive!"

Her bottom lip quivered, "Draco..."

He knelt down in front of her and gripped her hands, "Hermione...." his eyes glistened. "_Please_..."

She let her tears fall and stood up. She walked into the next room and removed her torn jacket, jeans, shoes and socks until all she was wearing was a plain blue shirt that had several burn marks on it, and a pair of black underwear. Draco entered the room, his wand shaking in his hand.

"They'll be here any second..." he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her cheek ever so softly.

Hermione looked down at the floor, finding interest in her bare feet, then opened her mouth. The loudest, most blood curdling scream emitted from her now stretched and chapped pink lips. Draco took a step back and held his wand aimed at her. The front door open, slammed shut and footsteps approached.

"Crucio!" he cried, the jet of red light hitting Hermione square in the chest. She dropped to the floor and writhed on rug, "Finite!"

"Draco," his name was said quickly, firmly and quietly; something was wrong.

Fenrir stepped forward and looked down at him, "Potter escaped - we need to leave immediately." Before Draco could say a word, Fenrir had his wand out and aimed at Hermione.

"Draco..." she breathed quietly.

"Avada Kedavra!" the killing curse left Greybacks' wand and entered her body without hesitance.

"Let's move." The stout Death Eater said from behind them.

In a moment of temporary insanity, Draco spun on his heels and threw two stunning spells as the Death Eaters, screaming ever jinx, charm and curse he could think of until the Werewolf and The Death Eater were unrecognizable. He stood frozen for a moment, refusing to turn around and let his eyes see the truth. Letting his gaze rest on the two unconscious forms on the floor; did it hit her? No, impossible... not now, not after everything he'd...

"Hermione?" he whispered her name so softly that he doubted he even said it. He turned slowly to his left and took a deep breath, "Hermione..." his eyes moved as his body remained still; there she was.

Her eyes were open, but not wide like some. Her lips were partly slightly, the last word to leave her mouth was his name. She was at an odd angle, her right arm curled up under her body, her right angled over her head, her legs, one bent up close to her abdomen and the other bent up behind her that her foot was almost reaching her spine. She was broken in more ways than one and he knew that this time no spell or charm would bring her back to health.

With his own dark silver eyes wide open, wet but unmoving, he fell to his knees before her in shock. Hermione Granger was dead; it was his fault. Why didn't he move them? Why didn't he take her somewhere else? Why? Why? Why? The many questions echoed in his mind as he shakily outstretched his hands to move her limbs. She was now lying straight on her back, her eyes still open and unmoving. They connected with his as if she was still alive and the great urge to scream out loud came over him.

He resisted, however, and pulled her onto his knees, "Hermione..." he whispered softly, "I lied. I... I did love you. I couldn't let this..." he squeezed his eyes shot and let out a small, short howl of sadness, "This is what I was avoiding! This was not supposed to happen!" He ran his hand over her face softly, closing her eyes, then picked her up into his arms. "But its okay..." he assured her corpse as he carried her into the bedroom and lay her down on the bed. "We'll be together soon..."

He reached inside his robes and pulled out a small flip bag. He laid the velvet bag out on the bed and fingered the vials of potions inside it. Draft of Living Death; _no more than fifteen milligrams of this potion is to be taken otherwise it becomes a poison with no anti-dote_. Severus Snape's words echoed in his mind when he was once a proud potions master; he pulled the vial from the small band holding it in and lay down beside Hermione.

He looked over at her, as if she were sleeping, "Fuck Romeo and Juliet..." he whispered, turned her head so she was facing him. He held her hand, "This is _our_ story."

He swallowed the fifty milligrams of Draft of Living Death and kissed her lips softly, "I love you."

He kept his gaze on hers until his vision blurred and his stomach cramped. He felt sleep approaching him, but he knew it wasn't friendly. Feeling his throat restricting and his organs slowly dying, he gripped her hand tightly and put his hand on his chest. There was no going back now, the end was near.

He had insulted her for two years, called her a mudblood, asked for forgiveness, made her a friend, fallen in love and hopefully led Potter in the right directions concerning the Dark Lords secrets. It was a mere year ago that he had broken her heart, and now, it had stopped beating. Everything that went wrong in her life, was his fault. This is the way it had to be - a life for a life. A heart for a heart.

DEATHS IN SALAZZAR SLUMS

BY ERNIE FULLHAM

THE COUNTRYSIDE OF WILTSHIRE WAS A QUIET AND PEACFUL PLACE TO BRING UP YOUR CHILDREN. THIS MORNING, AT PRECISELY 10AM, THE BODIES OF HERMIONE GRANGER, 17, DRACO MALFOY, 17, FENRIR GREYBACK, 44 AND AMYCUS CARROW, 38 WERE FOUND STREWN IN THE MASTER BEDROOM OF A LOVELY HOLIDAY HOME.

DRACO MALFOY IS SAID TO HAVE DIED FROM SELF-POISONING, WHILE HERMIONE GRANGER BY THE KILLING CURSE. THE TWO PROMINENT DARK FIGURES IN THE WIZARDING COMMUNITY, FENRIR GREYBACK AND AMYCUS CARROW, WERE SAID TO HAVE BEEN HIT WITH SO MANY DIFFEREN CURSES, THAT IT'S TOO HARD TO DETERMINE WHAT KILLED THEM EXACTLY.

STRANGEST THING IS, WHEN DRACO MALFOYS WAND WAS EXAMINED, IT SHOWED THAT IT WAS HIS WAND THE LED GREYBACK AND CARROW TO MEET THEIR ENDS, WHILE GREYBACKS WAND, SHOWED TO HAVE LAST PRODUCED THE UNFORGIVABLE KILLING CURSE.

WHAT WENT ON IN THAT ROOM? WHY DID DRACO MALFOY KILL HIMSELF AND SET THE SCENE FROM THE TRAGIC ROMANCE MUGGLE NOVEL, ROMEO AND JULIET? OBVIOUSLY WE WILL NEVER KNOW. THE MAFLOYS HAVE REFUSED TO SPEAK OUT AND HARRY POTTER, NOR HERMIONE GRANGERS' PARENT'S CANNOT BE FOUND.

* * *

A/N: This was so last minute, this one-shot. You can probably tell that the ending sort of ties in with DH... but only a little bit, hehe. My imagination has sort of had some kind of breakdown, in other words, a little bit of a block. That's why this fic was so choppy and lame. R&R!


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